Meditation Tip – How Long to Meditate

Meditation Tip

A Very common question posted by meginning meditators is “How long should I meditate for?”.

While the duration of the time spent meditation varies with individuals, as well as with experience, the best rule of thumb is to start small with a comfortable meditation time and work your way up as you gain experience.

Meditation should be a pleasurable experience and the more pleasurable your beginning experience the more likely you will stick with a regular practice.

A good starting time is 10 minutes. The comfort of this time can vary by individual. It can seem like hours to someone who is in an uncomfortable position, and it can seem like mere moments to others.

The most important thing to remember is that the duration of your practice is important, but not as important as consistency. A regular practice of meditation will eventually bring regular gains. The effects of meditation accumulate over time and sitting for as little as 10 minutes a day will bring greater benifits than ocassionally meditating for an hour.

Meditation Tip – Be Aware of Your Body

Occasionally, and more frequently as time goes on, I will have a short post such as this with a simple meditation tip. This was actually the purpose of this blog, hence the name Mindful Meditation Tips.

Meditation Tip

One of the most common difficulties beginning meditation students have is the ability to focus for extended sessions.

Focus is simply the ability to concentrate on one thing at the expense of all else.

A great way to strengthen your concentration when meditating, is to focus on your body. Just be aware of your various body parts such as:

Your overall posture,

Your lungs as you breath,

Your butt as it contacts the floor or Zafu (meditation cushion),

The tension in your legs.

Or, alternately, you can perform the “All Over” exercise, where you focus on each part of your body in sequence during meditation. (I plan on discussing this exercise in the future because it is a great beginners meditation.)

This type of meditation is great because it trains your ability to concentration during meditation sessions and the greater the concentration the better your focus will be.

Strengthening your ability to focus will have additional benefits, such as:

Decrease stress in high pressure situations,

Increase problem Solving skills,

and Increase Creativity.

Increasing your ability to focus will definitly enhance your quality of life.

The Practice of Morning Meditation

What is Morning Meditation

Morning Meditation is a popular meditation practice where you take some time in the morning to calm and focus your mind.

Developing a routine of morning meditation is very beneficial. By meditating in the morning, before the chaos of the day begins to affect your psychic balance and general state of mind, you give yourself a head start on the day with increased mindfulness, focus and calm.

Why is Morning Meditation important?

There are many reasons to have a morning meditation routine, but the general calming of the “monkey mind” is probable benefit enough.